[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 154 (Monday, September 17, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1262-E1263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CELEBRATING THE BOROUGH OF WANAQUE'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 17, 2018

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Borough 
of Wanaque located in the County of Passaic, New Jersey, on the 
occasion of its 100th Anniversary.
  The original occupants of Passaic County were the Lenape Indians, who 
were attracted to the land for its diverse natural resources and 
abundance of freshwater sources, which they utilized for fishing, 
hunting, and navigation. Wanaque is the name given to the valley by the 
Lenape and has been translated as ``valley of sassafras.'' In 1697, 
Dutch settlers began to settle within the region and included such 
families as the Beams, Sloats, Van Dines, Vreelands, Van Wagoners, 
Ryersons, and many others. Like the Native Americans, they were drawn 
to the region for its natural resources, and they established 
settlements along the Passaic River, which was navigable to Manhattan 
and was used as a trade route until the incorporation of the Erie 
Railroad in 1836. The growth of industry in Passaic County was directly 
connected to the presence of its rich natural resources. The activities 
of the early Dutch settlers centered on farming. Sheep were also raised 
and their wool was spun and woven into cloth. Timber was cut from the 
surrounding forest and hauled to newly constructed sawmills and 
gristmills to be made into lumber for houses.
  The Boroughs of Wanaque and Ringwood were originally part of Pompton 
Township, a since defunct township. Pompton Township was originally 
formed in 1797, from portions of Saddle River Township and Franklin 
Township in Bergen County, and incorporated on February 21, 1798. When 
Passaic County was formed in 1837 it included Pompton Township. The 
borough of Pompton Lakes was formed in 1895 and was the first 
municipality to split from the township. The township was divided on 
February 23, 1918, into the three boroughs of Bloomingdale, Ringwood, 
and Wanaque, with the remaining portion passing to Pompton Lakes. This 
ultimately ended the existence of Pompton Township.
  The early settlements in the Wanaque Valley were induced by the 
presence of rich mines of iron ore discovered in the early part of the 
18th Century. For this reason, Ringwood has been referred to as the 
birthplace of the American iron industry. Cornelius Board, a Welsh 
miner who entered the Wanaque Valley in 1737, may have been the first 
to mine ore in the area. In 1740, he built a forge along the Ringwood 
River (the present-day Wanaque River), which marked the beginning of 
the Ringwood Iron Works. Later that year the Ogden family bought 
property from Board, built their first iron furnace, and established 
the Ringwood Company. The forests provided wood for the manufacture of 
charcoal, which was in turn sold to the iron mines.
  After 1763, a dozen highly productive mines were opened in the area, 
and many forges and furnaces were located throughout the Wanaque 
Valley. Peter Hasenclever acquired the property for the London Company 
and made improvements to enlarge the ironworks. He added needed acreage 
around Ringwood and Long Pond and constructed a dam on Tuxedo Pond to 
provide waterpower. Hasenclever established Ringwood Manor as an iron 
plantation and imported over 500 mine workers from Germany and Britain. 
After a series of changing property owners, the iron mines were 
expanded during the mid-19th Century. However, the iron industry in 
Ringwood did not continue for very long; by 1880, the iron ore from the 
region was being replaced by ores from the Mesabi Range in Minnesota. 
The growing railroad network across the country enabled the transport 
of ores from elsewhere in the country, and the market for locally 
available ores diminished. By 1893 iron production at Ringwood ceased, 
and the facility closed its doors.
  In the late 1800s, the Wanaque Valley had turned further toward 
industrialization, and before the century's close, four blacksmith 
shops, a feed mill, a grist mill, a tannery, and a bobbin factory were 
located there. A paper industry was established in Borough of Wanaque, 
and the grist mill, which stood near the present location of the 
Wanaque Dam, became the Wanaque River Paper Company in 1892. The paper 
mill was owned by local resident Robert D. Carter who employed many of 
the area's residents. In the 1920s the Wanaque River Paper Company was 
lost to the impending construction of the Wanaque Reservoir.
  Another major industry in the Wanaque Valley prior to the reservoir's 
construction was the

[[Page E1263]]

production of gunpowder. The American Smokeless Powder Works was 
established in the Borough of Wanaque in 1894 through 1895 with Laflin 
and Rand Powder taking over the company several years later. The DuPont 
Company soon acquired the explosives plant and became a major employer 
in the community. During World War I, over 7,500 were employed at the 
explosives plant, and a section of the community, known as Haskell, 
became a company town, housing DuPont employees and their families. 
Although the DuPont Company was a major employer of Wanaque and 
Ringwood prior to and during World War I, by 1926 the company ceased 
operations because of the impending reservoir construction project, and 
a major employer was lost from the community.
  The first railroad into the Wanaque Valley area was begun in 1865, 
and the first station was established at the Ringwood Avenue crossing. 
In 1872, Midvale was listed as a stop on the Montclair Railroad, and by 
the time the railroad was operated by the New York and Greenwood Lake 
Railway, there were two stations in Wanaque--one in Midvale and one in 
Haskell. The New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad was responsible for 
bringing many new settlers to the Wanaque area, and excursion trails 
carried passengers to Greenwood Lake from Jersey City.
  The construction of the Wanaque Reservoir had a profound impact on 
the Boroughs of Wanaque and Ringwood and its residents. To provide the 
necessary space needed to create such a massive structure, many homes 
and businesses were demolished. The loss of the DuPont plant and the 
paper mill in Wanaque, which provided major sources of employment for 
residents in the area, left hundreds of residents unemployed through 
the Depression years of 1929 through 1939. However, the onset of World 
War II brought an improved economy, and after the war, Wanaque and 
Ringwood experienced a construction boom of housing and public 
buildings.
  Today, the Borough includes neighborhoods known as Wanaque and 
Haskell, each of which has their own ZIP code and is served by their 
own separate post office. As of the United States 2013 Census, the 
borough population was 11,208. Wanaque is a close knit family 
community, with an outstanding school system, library, many recreation 
programs, and a beautiful, new municipal building.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in 
congratulating the Borough of Wanaque, on the occasion of its 
Centennial Anniversary.

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